Friday, 2 July 2010

The Glasgow leg of Meursault's album launch back in April was a pretty special night for a number of reasons. First of all, it was my first chance to hear songs from their brilliant new album, as well as seeing them live again. It also meant I finally got the chance to see Yusuf Azak playing songs from his upcoming debut album.

Then, there was the little matter of Randolph's Leap. Fronted by the quirky, surely-a-songwriting-legend-in-the-making Adam Ross, their light-hearted, Belle and Sebastiany songs brought a smile to each and every person's face that night.

I recently asked Adam a few questions. Read on for news on their upcoming Glastonbury gig, Dougie Vipond, and a very special night in a fortnights time....

Kowalskiy: Who are or what is Randolph's Leap?Randolph's Leap: It was an unbelievable coincidence. Randolph was my great-grandmother’s name and ‘leap’ is my all-time favourite word. So we stuck them together. However, we recently found out that, very spookily, there is a geographic location called Randolph’s Leap, a gorge upon the River Findhorn just half an hour’s drive from Nairn where singer Adam grew up.

Kowalskiy: How did you all get together?Adam: Gareth got the train up from Ayr. The rest of us walked.

Kowalskiy: How would you describe your sound?Adam: Dressed in a pin-stripe suit and dangling upside-down from the Wallace Monument.

Kowalskiy: New single "Squeamish" is out now for free on your bandcamp page. What's the story behind it? And is it true that it features the one-and-only Dougie Vipond's drum kit?Adam: I (Adam) grew up a fearless young lad when it came to blood and gore but nowadays I can’t sit through an episode of Casualty, Grey’s Anatomy etc. without vomiting violently all over my shoes. Fairly recently (and this is completely true) I had to step outside for fresh air during an Aidan Moffat performance after hearing him sing a line about the female menstrual cycle. I’m a pathetic wimp.

Speaking of pathetic wimps, Dougie V’s kit does indeed feature on "Squeamish". We went on crapcelebritydrumkits.com and his was the cheapest to hire.

Kowalskiy: Ooh... harsh! A little birdie tells me you're playing the Ayetunes vs. Peenko II gig on 17th July alongside We're Only Afraid of NYC and Little Yellow Ukuleles. How'd you get roped into that one? For anyone who's never seen you live, what is a typical Randolph's Leap gig like?Adam: A giant yellow Pacman-type blob was at our gig at GoNorth. Turned out this was Peenko. Should’ve recognised him. He rambled drunkenly and aggressively to us after the show. After 3 and a half hours of incomprehensible nonsense he repeatedly asked “so are you in or are you out?”. “In” I replied, hoping to appease him and escape unscathed. It emerged the following day that I had unwittingly agreed to play a gig at The 13th Note. And also to marry his aunt.

Typical Randolph’s Leap gigs are an aural delight for all the family. But it’s the atypical ones that you should look out for.

Kowalskiy: What would be your ideal gig? Adam: Very kind of you to offer! We’ll go for 1920s, the Amazon, Katherine Jenkins please.

Kowalskiy: Any more plans from Randolph's Leap in the future?Adam: We’re working on releasing a studio EP in September which should result in a massive cash boost for our main concern, The Randolph’s Leap Naked Retirement Home business fund.Other than that, we got an email from a lovely fella the other day saying we can play Glastonbury main stage on October 21st and Rockness on December 33rd so that should keep us pretty busy.

Kowalskiy: Lastly, you've just joined the Blogosphere (its a word....). What can we expect to see there ---> http://randolphsleapblog.blogspot.com?Adam: Up-to-the-minute sports reports, all the hottest celeb gossip, tragic true life stories and a glimpse into our own devilish sense of fun as we take a sideways glance at the week’s topical news stories.

Kowalskiy: Anything you want to add?Adam: Three out of none of us has never been dead for no less than seven months this Tuesday.

Adam and Randolph's Leap have a whole host of freebies up for grabs on their bandcamp site including their recent "Eerie Indie Adam EP" which features the best song ever written about a Macaulay Culkin film. Fact!

I'd highly recommend catching them live! Lucky for you they have a few gigs coming up including, as mentioned above, the one the "giant yellow Pacman-type blob" and that guy from Paisley are putting on later this month - the second of their Ayetunes vs. Peenko extravaganzas. For all details, click the poster.